APOEL FC

APOEL FC (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a professional football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus. APOEL is the most popular football team in Cyprus and they are the most successful with an overall tally of 24 championships, 21 cups and 13 super cups.

APOEL's greatest moment in the European competitions occurred in the season 2011–12, when the club participated in the group stages of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League (along with F.C. Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St. Petersburg) and achieved qualification for the quarter-finals of the competition by topping the group and eliminating Olympique Lyonnais in the last 16, becoming the only Cypriot club to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. APOEL's European competitions highlights include also appearances in the group stages of the 2009–10 & 2014–15 UEFA Champions League and the group stages of the 2013–14 & 2015–16 UEFA Europa League. APOEL is the only Cypriot club who have reached the group stages of both major UEFA competitions (UEFA Champions League & UEFA Europa League).

APOEL Nicosia

APOEL (Greek: ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a major multi-sport club based in Nicosia, Cyprus.

APOEL, which was founded in 1926, is the most popular sports club in Cyprus and one of the most successful, achieving to win 149 official titles in several sports.

The club is parent to twelve different competitive departments including football, basketball, volleyball, futsal, table tennis, bowling, cycling, archery, swimming, water polo and a runners team.

History

The early years

The club was formed as POEL (Greek: ΠΟΕΛ; Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias, Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia) on 8 November 1926. The club's formation came about when a group of forty people, with a common vision, met and set the foundations for creating a football club that would represent the Greek residents of the capital and express their deep desire for Cyprus' incorporation (enosis) into Greece. The meeting took place at a traditional confectionery, owned by Charalambos Hadjioannou, downtown in Ledra Street and the first president of the club was Giorgos Poulias. The first clubhouse was the "Athenians Club" (Λέσχη Αθηναίων) at the end of Ledra Street.